Queensland (QLD)

• Queensland is often referred to as the ‘Sunshine State’ and its people are sometimes affectionately known as ‘banana benders’.
• Four Australian Prime Ministers came from Queensland: Andrew Fisher, Arthur Fadden, Francis Forde and Kevin Rudd.
• In the year 1860, the first Queensland stamps were issued.
• Queensland houses the tallest residential building in Australia called Q1. It is over 322 metres tall.
• Many famous people were born in Queensland: singer Cody Simpson, actor Geoffrey Rush, actress Miranda Otto and wildlife warrior Bindi Irwin. The athlete Cathy Freeman was born in Mackay, Queensland. When Cathy competed at the 1992 Olympic Games in Spain she was the first Aboriginal Australian to represent Australia at an Olympic Games. Cathy had the honour of lighting the Olympic Flame at the opening ceremony of the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000. At the same games, she won gold in the 400m.
• Queensland possesses five of Australia’s eleven World Natural Heritage areas: Fraser Island, Scenic Rim National Parks, the Great Barrier Reef, Riversleigh Fossil Fields and the Wet Tropics.
• Queensland is home to over two hundred national parks with more than 1000 species of native vertebrates (animals with a backbone or spinal cord), 572 species of birds and 1600 species of fish.
• Some of the wettest regions of Australia are surrounding Cairns in northern Queensland. Bellenden Ker in north Queensland has the highest annual rainfall in the whole of Australia.
• Queensland has Australia’s biggest theme parks with four located on the Gold Coast: Sea World, Movie World. Wet’n’Wild Water World and Dreamworld.

The Queensland flag was introduced in 1876. As with all Australian state flags the Union Jack appears in the top-left corner of the flag of Queensland. The symbol to the right of the Union Jack is Queensland’s state badge. It is made up of a Maltese Cross with a Royal Crown at its centre.

The Queensland Coat of Arms was the first Coat of Arms to be granted to a British Colony since Jamaica’s was granted in 1661. The Queensland Coat of Arms was granted in 1893, making it the oldest in Australia.

Pictured on the shield are symbols of industry and agriculture: a bull’s head, a ram’s head, a sheaf of wheat and a column of gold rising from quartz (to symbolise mining). Surrounding Queensland’s state badge above the shield are two stalks of sugar cane. Below the shield is the state motto Audax at Fidelis meaning ‘Bold but Faithful’. Supporting the shield is the Brolga and the Red Deer.

Queensland has three emblems: the faunal emblem, floral emblem and bird emblem.

The animal (faunal) emblem of Queensland has been the Koala since 1971. The name Koala comes from the Indigenous word meaning ‘no drink’ because the Koala gets most of its fluids from dew on leaves and by eating eucalyptus leaves.

The floral emblem of Queensland was named as the Cooktown Orchid in 1959. It is usually purple but other varieties are white.

In 1986, the bird emblem of Queensland was named as the Brolga. The Brolga is the only crane that is native to Australia. Brolgas can stand at one metre tall. During the mating season pairs of birds perform intricate dances to attract their partner.